$24-a-week kindergarten trainees threaten strike

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33521, 30 April 1974, Page 3

$24-a-week kindergarten trainees threaten strike

(By our education reporter)

The walk-out yesterday by more than 500 kindergarten teacher trainees in Auckland, Flamilton, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin marked the first show of solidarity over claims for higher salaries.

In all centres students emphasised that until parity with primary teacher trainees was achieved further stopwork meetings and possibly a longer strike would be considered.

The strike action may begin tomorrow.

Most trainees receive less than $24 a week before tax which is considered unrealistic in view of the twoyear training course. Even after three years as a head teacher the highest salary possible is $3500. The stand by the trainees was supported by a meeting of representatives from 40 Christchurch kindergartens who held a two-hour meeting late yesterday afternoon. The kindergarten teachers decided not to accept any more children in the near future. This action will continue until a satisfactory agreement has been reached over the salary claims. The meeting expressed sympathy with the trainees’ claims and urged the Gov-

ernment to take prompt action in line with election promises over pre-school education. It supported an approach to the Education Services Committee to try to speed up negotiations. SUPPORT OFFERED

Support for the walk-out was given by students in other teacher training institutions mostly in the form of written motions and offers of financial help. In Christchurch more than 250 students at the secondary division of the Christchurch Teachers’ College held a stop-work meeting for an hour in support of the trainees.

The Student Teachers’ Association is seeking the right to negotiate salaries on behalf of all trainee teachers. Th 6 Minister of Education (Mr Amos) has made it clear that he does not recognise S.T.A.N.Z. as a negotiating body and will only deal with the Free kindergarten Teachers’ Association, which has had a claim before the Education Services Committee for nearly two years.

Leaders of kindergarten teacher trainees throughout the country have challenged the right of the Free Kinder-

garten Teachers’ Association to represent trainees. They say they were never consulted over salary claims by the association which has only 358 members compared with 600 trainee teachers. The trainees do not have any legal status under the 1964 Education Act.

The president of S.T.A.N.Z.

(Mr D. H. Benson-Pope) said last evening that the Kindergarten Teachers’ Association had proved itself to be incapable of negotiating salary increases.

“Support for S.T.A.N.Z. over the kindergarten trainees dispute must make the Minister of Education aware that students are now speaking with one voice which can no longer be quelled by hollow promises,” he said. The Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Watt) met Mr Benson-Pope yesterday afternoon. Mr Watt said that he was unable to comply with the request for an answer for higher salary claims by 6 p.m. last evening but he would reply as soon as possible. "this won’t be neglected,” said Mr Watt, according to the Press Association.